Pararescueman killed in mountain rescue training accident

Tech. Sgt. Peter Kraines, a special tactics pararescueman with the 24th Special Operations Wing, died Tuesday from injuries sustained during a training exercise in Boise, Idaho.

Tech. Sgt. Peter Kraines, a special tactics pararescueman with the 24th Special Operations Wing, died Tuesday from injuries sustained while practicing mountain rescue techniques, Air Force Special Operations Command said Thursday.

“This is a tragic loss to the special tactics community,” 24th SOW commander Col. Matthew Allen said in the release. "We are grateful for the support from our community and our [AFSOC] teammates. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and teammates at this time.

Kraines, who was from Albany, New York, enlisted in the Air Force in March 2011 and immediately began training to become a pararescueman. After completing training two years later, he was assigned to the 347th Rescue Group at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. In 2017, he joined special tactics and the 24th SOW, which is located at Hurlburt Field, Florida.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss,” Wing Commander Brig. Gen. John Teichert said. “Adam touched many lives during his time here."

Stephen Losey

September 12, 2019

Kraines was a military static-line jumper, a free fall jumper, a combat scuba diver, and was certified as an emergency medical technician, the release said. When he joined special tactics, he was trained to immediately deploy into combat operations to conduct combat search-and-rescue and personnel recovery operations.

Among his awards and decorations were an Air Medal with one oak leaf cluster, an Aerial Achievement Medal, an Air Force Commendation Medal, an Air Force Achievement Medal, an Air Force Good Conduct Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, an Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Stephen Losey covers leadership and personnel issues as the senior reporter for Air Force Times. He comes from an Air Force family, and his investigative reports have won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover Air Force operations against the Islamic State.

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